Wednesday’s Champions League tips: Man Utd heading for Valencia draw?
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The Champions League group stages draw to a close tonight, with plenty still to be won and lost.
Both Manchester City and United have already qualified. The Premier League duo were joined by Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur in the last-16 last night.
But both Pep Guardiola and Jose Mourinho’s men are fighting to be top of their group, and potentially, be handed a better result in Monday’s knockout stage draw.
The Citizens take on Hoffenheim tonight, while United are off to Spain…
Valencia v Man United
Mourinho will have been relieved to see his side perform at something like their best in Saturday’s 4-1 thrashing of Fulham. Another win tonight would see them top the group if Juventus fail to win at Young Boys.
The Red Devils are 9/5 for victory at the Mestalla, but Valencia have only lost five times at home in 2018. Three of those came to Juventus, Real Madrid and Barcelona.
A home victory is 6/4, but with six of the last nine meetings (and five of the last six) between the teams ending in all-square, another draw is 11/5.
Marcus Rashford was excellent versus Fulham, and the England international is 6/1 to score first. There’s 11/2 about Romelu Lukaku to break the deadlock.
Young Boys v Juventus
Due to the United’s 2-1 win in Turin, they hold the better head-to-head record with the Serie A champions, should they end on the same points tonight.
So can Swiss side Young Boys do United a favour? It seems unlikely. Juve will be reluctant to slip into that second spot, and risk a potentially trickier knockout tie. They’re 4/11 to win tonight, with the hosts out at 17/2.
Plus, since losing to United, the Old Lady have won each of their last five games to nil. 21/20 says they do so again, while Cristiano Ronaldo is 13/5 favourite to score first.
Shakhtar Donetsk v Lyon
Should Man City slip up and lose to Hoffenheim tonight, Lyon could steal top spot if they can win at Shakhtar.
But equally, a win for Shakhtar would see them oust the French side in second place. This is a proper win-or-bust tie.
The Donetsk side are often strong at home too. They’ve beaten Napoli, Roma and Man City in recent seasons. Our traders make them 5/4 favourites to claim another scalp tonight.
There’s 15/8 about Lyon, with former Man United winger Memphis Depay 6/1 to score first. All five of Lyon’s group games have seen over 2.5 goals, and 8/15 says that becomes six from six.
Ajax v Bayern Munich
The game of the night could come from Amsterdam. Ajax are hoping to usurp Bayern Munich at the top of Group E with victory.
Bayern are the Evens favourites, but Ajax have lost just once at home in 13 months. They’re 12/5 for that group-altering win tonight. A draw would see Bayern maintain their place at the top, and that’s 13/5.
Robert Lewandowski has already scored six times in the competition this season, and he’s the 3/1 favourite to score first. Behind him come 11/2 shots Kasper Dolberg, Klaas-Jan Huntelaar and Sandro Wagner.
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All Odds and Markets are correct as of the date of publishing
